Balancing device.



J. G. CALLAN.

BALANGING DEVICE.

APPLIGATION FILED Nov.19, 1904.

Patented May 25, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. G. GALLAN.

BALANGING DEVICE.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV.19, 1904. 922,561 Paned May 25, 1909.

2 SEEETS-SHBETZ.

Witness Johr G5. Sallam, @yMg/g/om es: l Inventor;

:sides iii-f;

if tvrigiim @if Ubi il nil ci JOHN Tr. @ALL-iN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL lllolSllTltllf COMPANY, A. CORBORATION Ol" NSW YORK.

BALANCING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mey 25, 3.909..

Application filed November 19, 1.904. Serial No. $333,482.

To (L'ZZ whom '15 muy concern.'

Be n; known that I, JOHN G. CALLAN, a

chusetts, have invented certain new and useful 4Improvements in Allolsncing Devices, oif which the followin` is zt speciieotion.

'The balancing ol bodies intended for high rotative speed, such for example :1s bucket wheels 'for steain turbines, zu-n'iutures, oi revolving fields of turbine generators, :i nintter that .egnands utmost precision rlhe object sought in balancing a bucket Wheel or other rotative body, is to distribute the Weight so that when the axis of rotation coin cides Ywith the geometrical xls` there no unbalanced weight or couple teinling to conse vibration. `lilith this condition perfectly realized rotation is attained with no VibroH tion` With turbines especially, the question o" vibration ol' 'vital injiportance, since the high angular velu-city of the bucket- Wheels und nti-nchod rotating ports, would cause u very slightl nnbelonce to give rise to prohibitive vibration.

Bodies have commonly been bulnnced herc tofoie by what is lmovvn the static method of balancing. According` to this method the unbalanced clement v or body is mounted, either by nieuns of its pernnuient shaft. or o false one., on puiullel ways or rollers with the exis of the slmY horizontal. ln this position the henvv side ci: the elcincnl mcy be determined by the fact that. it rolls to the bottoni,

end may be corrected by peinninently adding or subtracting' weights by :i cut :ind try proc ess. While this method niay be quito satis ctory for body such es a lot disk, which lies very nein' :i single plone normal to tbc mis, or for bodies running at lon7 ungulor velocity, l prefer to employ, for parte huvii 'T `any zipi'irecieble :iXisl length, what is termed. the dynuniic .niethoth sind specially for bnl slicing thc rotating elen ents of high speed nppurntns,like .stenA L ttuoines. n lznf advantage derived .troni this method rei in the 'feet that. it gives indicution of unbalanced couples not discoverable by the stati, method; since o heavy spot in one plone inlay statically balance :1n opposite The perticui' l heavy spot in o pinne at some exis l while with the dvnfnnic method tl Acitizen of the United States, residing at.

Lynn, county of -Essex, Stute of Massnlist lLince n p osi ng acting ut forlil unu second, in the fact that the rotating element may be balanced under conditions which correspond nearly is possible 'with those of uorinul operation. Thot is to sity, thc belonce cnn be inode une er such speed us the body is intended normally to renne, it' de siied, or at any otherspeed. ln practicing the method l suspend the element ci.' body to be balanced so that it will rotate on o, 'vertical axis, in which position the force of gravity acts evenly on thY body. The shzi'lg't with which the element rotates is flexibly suspenib ed so thetthe exis of rotation free to nssunie any position brought about by the distribution of the niussoi materiel. Suite ble devices are preferably einployeo et the e1;- lieinities of the shuilt to prei/'cnt motions ot' nuttttion, or inulue \.'ibr;i.tion troni other muses. rl`he driving power is transmitted through the flexible suspension, :it any dcsired speed. iiluiliings are nnule on the pcriphciiy of the shaft., from which the goilion of' the revolving` n'niss having the nreponderunce oi weight may be ascertained :ind n belunce cil'ccted by adding or subtract ing-weight nl. the proper points.

ln practice il bus been found tliol nl. low ungulur speed u body muy cppcur to be in lmlnncc, while nl high sliced it not. This; is largely because the 'loi'cwj olf the unbelunced couplev i eight obviouslyv increase with the speed, thus increasing the sensitiveness. oftheinethofil. vVith bodies like urinetures containing soft nnrts, :i les iniiortzint contributory cunse in :i pcs .ole slight (innige of actuel rel-:nien of poi-ts initier high marking shifts around the shaft in a directrame is suspended the rotating element to tion opposite to that of rotation. This shit ing of the marking takes place rapidly at tirst and then more gradually, and the speed becomesl very great the marked or high side closely approximate the lifj'ht side. This will be best understood by reference to an experiment which l made. )i body weighing t300 pounds, which had been previously balanced with careful precision, was employed, and a tvvo ounce mass was secured thereto at a point six inches :trom the true axis of the body. When rot-ating at low speed, say 500 revolutions per minute, the

marking was, within the error of observation, y

directly at the heavy point. As v[hc speed. increased it traveled in a directionopposite to that of rotation and toward the light' point. This change in4 position ot the marking` occurred rapidly at first and then more gradually up to 1900 revolutions per minute, f

From a curve derived from various experi-- ments it is probable that atabout 5,00() revolu tions per minute the marking and the light point would coincide. Hence knowing the relation between the marking and the light point it is possible in balancing to ascertain with a considerable degree of accuracy the proper point to add or subtract weight for a body ot given mass and rotating at a given speed. For instance, in balancing a number ot parts of a `given weight and at a given speed, the operator learns that 'the balancing weight should be added at a point lo fated at a certain angular distance from the marking and he mentally carries a rough idea of the vay in which the angle changes as the degree of balance becona-s better by C#hitting the balancing weight lrom point to point. l }x}'iericnce shows that an ordinary operator soon acquires a sullicient degree of expertness to enable him to add the balancing weight very close to the required position. lu practice the weight; is added at a point located at a greater or less angular distance behind the marking., measured in the direction opposite to rotation) lt' the balance 'to be etl'cctcd b'y sulitrzuflion ot weight,

material would be subtracted at a point located at a suitable angular distance in iront ot' the marking in the direction of rotation.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective 'view ol.' ay balancing machine; Fig. Q is a side view, with certain parts in section, of a turbine 'wheel to be balanced together `with the suspending means;- and Figs. 3 and 4lare plan views ot' the devices for damping vibration \\'hich are located at the ends of the Wheel arbor, the two views showing the arbor in the central and an eccentric position re Referring to the drawings. l represents an upright frame made preferably of angle iron, and tirmly secured at its base. 1Within the pecl ivcly.

be balanced, which may be a turbine bucket wheel., a ily Wheel, the rotor of a dynamo electric machine, or the like. The element shown is the bucket- Wheel 2 of a turbine designed to rotate at high speed and is suspended with its axis vertical so that all portions may be acted upon equally by the force of gravity'. On the 'top of the trame l is mounted a rotatable shaft 3, to which is flexibly coupled an arbor Il carrying the bucket Wheel. 'lhe arbor may be the permanent shaft ot' the Wheel or a false one as desired. l', have round that a wire cable 5 may be used with advantage for flexibly suspending the bucket wheel as this forms a simple and inexpensive means and gives very satisfactory results. T he gage ot the wire should be selected according to the weightoi the element,r to have die desired llexibility and tensile strength. rl`o permit interchangeability oft the suspension cable for elements having dil'lcrent weights, the cable is removably connected witlithe rotatable shaft and' element. as by means of couplings The shaft 3 may be driven from any suitable .source of power; in the present case it vis driven by a direct connected electric motor 'l mounted on the top or the frame iu a lixed tripod 7 or other equi talent' means. The step bearing 'for thc sli-att 3 comprises a shoulder 8, l? 2, which upon a plate 9, the bearing sui-tace being carefully finished and lunniug in lubricant contained .in the well l0 formed by an uprigl'it annular llange ll. on the plate.

lVhen the wheel is rotated while out of balance and suspended as described it has a tendency to vibrate considerably. ln order te reduce the vibration to some. extent so as lo partially steady the wheel, damping devices are employed which engage the arbor. These are supported-on the supplemental frame l2 arranged within the traine l. The arbor extends through openings 13 in cross pieces or supports 14. preferably located at the ends thereof. '.l`he-ope1'iings 13 are large enough to permit ample clearance, around the arbor so that the latter may rotate eccentric ally, while the. wheel .is in unbalanced condition. Around the openings and eiigaging the arbor4 are thrce'or more radially disposed followers '1 5. l commonly use fou r of these tollowers and arrange them in pairs. A greater number can be employed fil desired. These 'followers-'arc suitably guided and are pressed.

against the arbor by adju.- table springs. 'lhe working faces of the tollowcrs a re )Vncl'erably curved on the same diameter as thc shalt and have'a tendency to ct-iilralize or steady the eeasei lthronlfh an oienino' in a transverse su fi )ort of the supplemental frame and is secured by a Wing nut 1S. In order to employ arbors of' differentdiameters the openings t'or the bolts are formed as radial slots 19, so to permit 'the holders to be adjusted towaril and away from the center, as desired. The followers majy also be aojusted longitudinally of the arbor by varying the position or' the transverse supports. For this purpose the supports are adjustable. A simple method of adjust-ment is to provide pins 9.0 as shown in Fig. 1...

AThese pins are adapted to be inserted in the openings 2] in the vertical guide Q.,J ot' the supplemental frame.

ln operation, the Wheel is mounted as shown in Fig. l and rotated at a suitable Ispeed, preferably at about the speed at which the Wheel is intended normally to rotate. The amount oit' eecentricity of the of the mass depends upon the unequal distribution ot material therein. To ascertain the degree of cccentricity, markings are made on the peripherj7 of the arbor on account of its relatively low peripheral speed. In. making these markings the instrument Q3, shown in Fig'. 2. is employed which is a pencil of lead 24 and a weighted holder 2'. The inertia, of the uf'ciglit tends to prevent the pencil from following the 'vibration of the arbor. l The markings on the arbor indicate the relative positions of the heavy and lig -t portions of the Wheel ant. these are then compensated for b.' the addition or subtraction of Weight. ll 4- shows one position of tl i arbor When it rotates on an axis at one sido olf the true axis caused by the unliulauccd condition of the Wheel, and llihf. 3 illustrates the condition of perfect balance in -which the axis of rota.- tion coinr?" *ith gcmnetrical axis and the wheel rotates .vitho'ut ifilgiration.

ln accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, l have (lt-ascribed the priir ciplc oi ojueration of my invention together with the apparatus wbicl'l l i now consincr to represent the best embodiment thereof; but l desire to have it amici-stood that the apparatus shown only; illustratiiv'e. and that the invention can be carried out by other mouths'.

` l'li'hat l' claim as new and desire to sccnre by lletters Patent oi the United. States, is:

t ion olt an upright supporting` traine, a motor mounted on top of the fanic, a rer-tical shaft mounted 1n the frame which is driven by the motor and Jro'ects downwardly therefrom a step-bearing on the frame for the shalt, a `well'or reservoir on the frame tor lubricating the liearing, an arbor carrying thc element to be balanced, and a, flexible iable comiectcd with the lower end of the shaft which flexibly suspends 'the element and its arbor so that their particles can rotate in planes at right angles to the direction of the force of gra i tation, said cable forming the sole. means for supporting` the Weight of the element 'and the arbor and for inipartinl rotation thereto Atroni the motor-driven shaft.

2. In a balancing machine, the combination of a supporting trarne` a vertical driving shaft mounted thereon, an arbor l'or the elementV to be balanced which is located below and in substantial alinenient with the shaft, a flexible connection between the arbor and the shaft which supports the entire Weight of the arbor and element to be balanced and transmits motion to them, means for damp ing,l the vibration or the arbor, and supports for said means which are adjustable longitir dinally of the arbor.

3. In balancing machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a vertical drivi1-g shaft mounted on the top thereof, a stepbearing for the shaft, an arbor for the element. to be balanced in substantial alinemcnt with the shaft, a cable flexibly connecb ing the arbor with the driving shaft, adjustable supports at the extremities of the arbor.'

and adjustable damping devices on sain supn ports which yieldingly engage the arbor.

4.-. ln a balancing machine, the combination of an upright, frame, a vertical driving shaft mounted thereon, a iieribljy suspended arbor for the element to be balanced, which depends Jfrom the driving shaft, vertical guides arranged on opposite sides oli the arbor` transverse supports adjustable on the guides, and means arranged on supports which engage with the arbor to reduce ribralion.

ln a balancing machine, the combination of an upright frame, a. motor mounted 'thercorn an arbor for the elementI lo he balanced, a substantiall",7 vertical cable sus pension which is dctachably scoured to the motor and arbor, a step-bearing on the iframe which supports the Weight ot' the a ir anf element, to be balanced, and means which tend to center the arbor.

ll. ln a balancing machine, the combina tion of an upright frame, a supplemental traine, a flexibly suspended arbor, and danipl ing' devices for the arbor mounted on the supplemental trarne, comp using' raclialljf disposed followers which. yicldingly engage the 1v ln a balancingv machine, the eombinai arbor.

7. In a balancing machine, the combinal adjusting devices JrEor the springs, and means tion of au upright frame, a suppleiiental l for adjusting the position oi the followers. lmmofixedrelativelytheroto,u11arbor ln Witness whereof l hereunto set m pomlod on .the upright frame, menus for lmnd this 17th day of Novemberj 1904., 5 rotating the :l1-bor, and u deviceI mounted 011 tlm sulmlelueuul frame at each 0nd of the :arbor Comprising a plurality of radially dis# posed carbon followers under spring tension JOHNl G. CALLAN. y 

